When you buy Black, you not only invest in your own community, but you invest in yourself as well. What better way to take it one step further than to patronize a Black-owned vegan or vegetarian restaurant that is healthy for you too?
Feed your mind, body, and your soul with these clean, raw and wholesome food joints:
10. Veltree Soulful Vegan Cuisine, Charlotte, NC
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14825 Ballantyne Village Way, #150, Charlotte, NC 28277
Opening their doors in September 2018, Veltree set out to bring a vegan experience as Charlotte’s only soulful vegan café. They offer smoothies, freshly squeezed juices, and savory foods like chic'n and waffles, pancakes, fried potatoes, mac n’ cheese, tofu scramble, krab cakes, and more!
Open Tue-Thurs 11:00am-8:00pm, Fri & Sat 11:00am-9:00pm | Closed Monday
9. Soul Food Vegan, Houston, TX
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2901 Emancipation Ave, Houston, TX 77004
Located in the heart of Houston’s 3rd Ward, Soul Food Vegan Restaurant has combined classic, traditional, soul food dishes with a vegan twist. The menu consists of vegan mac n’ cheese, dirty rice, collard greens, and their infamous cajun pasta, just to name a few.
Open Mon-Sat 12:00pm-9:00pm | Closed Sunday
8. Sweet Soulfood Vegan Cuisine, New Orleans, LA
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1025 North Broad St, New Orleans, LA 70119
This Louisiana gem offers red beans and rice, shrimp fried mushrooms, BBQ cauliflower, chickpea cake, blackened cauliflower, vegan mac, sweet & sour cauliflower, sweet heat cauliflower and more! Plus, if you have a sweet tooth, they also offer gourmet organic vegan ice cream, cookies, and pralines. Nom, nom!
Open Mon-Sat 11:00am-5:00pm | Closed Sunday
7. Detroit Vegan Soul, Detroit, MI
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This Detroit vegan haven has a menu featuring organic produce, natural ingredients, and sweeteners, all non-GMO, made without pesticides, preservatives, additives, refined flours, sugars, dairy, eggs and animal by-products. Go support their mission to make good, healthy food accessible to everyone, and to break the cycle of diet-related diseases in Black families and communities.
Open Fri-Sat 10:00pm-6:00pm | Closed Sunday-Thursday
6. NuVegan Café, Washington, D.C.
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Two locations: 2928 Georgia Avenue and 2397 6th Street NW Washington, D.C.
Known for their vegan takes on old American classics like mac n’ cheese, drum sticks, fried chicken sandwich, and raw garlic kale salad – you can guiltlessly fall in love with this 100% vegan bistro.
First Location: Open Mon-Sat 12:00pm-8:00pm, Sun 12:00pm-7:00pm, Second Location: Mon-Thurs 11:00am-9:00pm | Closed Sat & Sun
5. Vegetarian Delight Juice Bar, Miami, FL
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6060 Miramar Pkwy Miramar, FL 33023
Ever heard of “OakRAH Punch”? This juice bar not only created the infamous okra elixir, but it is also known for popular vegetarian specialties for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-9:00pm | Closed Sunday
4. Slutty Vegan, Atlanta, GA
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1542 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW Atlanta, Georgia
Yes, you read that right. Slutty Vegan is the name of this popular ATL vegan restaurant. What is “slutty” to them? Slutty food is overindulgent, gooey, messy, most often sweet, and irresistible. You shouldn’t want it, but you do. However, they're plant-based and guilt-free!
Open Tues-Fri 4:00pm-12:00am | Closed Sunday and Monday
3. The Original Soul Vegetarian, Chicago, IL
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205 E 75th St Chicago, Illinois 60619
Serving vegan and vegetarian food since 1982, this second-generation, family-operated restaurant is known for its house-made seitan that can be served country-fried and barbecued. If I absolutely have to recommend just one vegan restaurant in Chicago to visit, it would have to be this one.
Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-6:00pm, Sat & Sun 10:00am-6:00pm
2. Stuff I Eat, Los Angeles, CA
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114 N Market St, Inglewood, CA 90301
Fresh, natural and organic, this Inglewood staple has been perfecting home-cooked vegan cuisine for over 15 years in an effort to share health through food. If you’re ever visiting LA, just take a short 30-minute drive from the city to support this Black-owned vegan business.
Open Weds-Sun 12:00pm-6:00pm | Closed Monday & Tuesday
1. Seasoned Vegan, New York, NY
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55 St. Nicholas Avenue, Harlem, NY 10026
Owned and operated by a mother and son, this Black-owned New York City vegan restaurant prides itself on being loyal to its vegan/vegetarian customers by maintaining an organic, 100% vegan menu. If you’re looking for a meal that’s delicious enough to satisfy the most skeptical meat-eater. Try them out!
Open Mon-Fri 5:00pm-10:00pm, Sat 1:00pm-10:00 pm, Sun 4:00pm-9:00pm
Tia Muhammad, BS, is an award-winning freelance content & media creative, copywriter, blogger, digital designer, and marketing consultant. She owns the boutique content and digital media company, jackieGLDN|studio.